Bathing in ice water is good for you? OK, if you say so! There is an ongoing tradition of people bathing in the sea or ocean throughout the winter or on New Year's Day, but there are also people who bathe in ice water several times a week.

Below is a video of someone who does this on a regular basis, and we're not talking here a"quick in-and-out dip". This is "settle in and stay for a while" in the slushy ice of the Baltic Sea. Definitely worth a watch even if you're not into this kind of cold water bathing.

Translation (google) of the intro text submitted with the video:

I do not know what to call it, is it still water, or ice already. Weight of water-ice texture resembling thin concrete. Water in the Baltic Sea freezes at a temperature of about -0.5 ° C, but in salt water does not feel the cold so much as in przer?blu. On the contrary, the water with such consistency is very nice :)

Quote from the person whose cold-dip you will be watching:

"I am sure that you too can do it. Everyone can. You have to accustom your body gradually, dip briefly, starting with one minute a week. Next week a little longer until you get to two minutes. Two minutes a week almost guaranteed not catch cold in winter."

After Exercise - Does an Ice Water Bath Speed Recovery?

About.com

Taking an after exercise plunge in an ice water bath (a tub of 12 to 15 degrees Celsius ice water) is a common practice among many elite athletes as a way to recover faster, and reduce muscle pain and soreness after intense training sessions or competitions.

Think Americans and Canadians are a hardy bunch?

Check Out these members of a Russian winter swimmers’ club as they went for a swim into the Yenisei River, at a temperature of around -36 degrees Celsius. (-33 Farenheit) Russians are no strangers to cold, and most of them cope pretty well with it, especially after a few shots of vodka, but under -35 degrees is extreme, even for them. Winter swimming is very popular in Russia. So is vodka so I've heard. Maybe this is why.